Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep. This is the sound our alarm clock made at 4:30 on the morning of November 24, 2015. It was opening day of Illinois shotgun season (deer season) and my dad and I could not be more excited about our hunt! I checked the weather on my phone to determine the amount of clothing I should wear. The weather app said it was in the low 20s, so we needed to wear many layers. I went out to start the truck to warm it up and about 5 minutes later, we were headed out!
The drive to our hunting ground was approximately 5 minutes, so I didn’t get much time to enjoy the warmth of my dad’s truck. Once we pulled up to our land, my dad and I had a 10 minute four wheeler ride. Then we parked and had another 15-20 minute walk …show more content…
The deer jumped up, then took off running away from me. The buck only ran 20 yards then stopped, which was strange. BOOOMMM! I took another shot at him and he dropped! I was so excited, I called my dad as fast as I could dial his number. I told my dad I just shot my first big buck, but while I was talking to him, the deer stood back up and started running off. I threw the phone down and took a free handed shot. BOOOMMM! The deer dropped again. I grabbed my phone and my dad started laughing and he asked me if I needed more shells. I told him to “shut up” and I asked him to help me drag my trophy buck out of the woods! I hung up the phone and started putting away my supplies. While I was putting away my calls, I saw out the corner of my eye, the deer stood up and started walking off. I reached for my gun, but I hit it with my hand and it fell out of my tree stand….I was …show more content…
I started waving my hands and pointing toward the deer, but my dad didn’t understand what I was doing. Once he got to my stand, he asked what I was doing, and I told him that the deer hopped up and walked over the hill. He told me we will give it a hour or two to let the deer bed down. The time past by and I couldn’t wait any longer, I needed to go track it. We found some blood, so we followed the track as far as we could see blood. My dad and I tracked the deer for about 50 yards, and lost blood around a creek. We were standing by this creek bend contemplating about what to do and out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement. I turned my head real quick and I saw the deer’s head pop up. I hurry and grab my gun so I can finish off this beast. I leaned up against a tree, acquired a steady rest, found the vitals through the scope, and took my final shot.
I will never forget the feeling of walking up to the deer and being able to hold his antlers in my hands. I knew my dad was proud of me, even though I made him stop hunting to come help me. The bond my dad and I share with hunting is unbreakable. The feeling we receive when harvesting a mature deer is like no other feeling. To this day, I have the deer hanging on my wall in the basement and when I go down there and see it, I can’t help but